Rolling Hills Estates to test eight approved staging sites as trash complaints persist

Rolling Hills Estates officials directed staff on Jan. 12 to begin a trial using eight previously approved mother-truck staging locations and to continue exploring additional sites after residents complained about frequent truck activity, spills and odors near their homes.

City leaders said the schedule — provided by Republic Services on Jan. 11 — would phase the mother truck across eight approved locations so no single site would be used for more than a half day once per week. The committee also asked staff to work with the city traffic engineer to evaluate any new locations, coordinate with the Rolling Hills Association on easement issues and return to the traffic commission and city council with a timeline and milestones.

"There should be enough that you shouldn't have the truck in 1 location more than 1 day a week," said the Mayor, summarizing the committee's long-standing goal of spreading impacts more equitably across the city. Christian, a city staff member leading the solid-waste briefing, said Republic Services provided a preliminary schedule that would put the mother truck at two locations on Monday, two on Tuesday, two on Thursday and two on Friday.

Residents at the meeting, including Heidi, a Rolling Hills Estates resident, described…